Racing in a Tesla Model 3 [Video]

Posted on
January 09, 2018
by
Matt Pressman

Last year, when Elon Musk unveiled the Model 3 at an intimate party inside of Tesla's LA Design Studio, he reminded the crowd, "We don't make slow cars!" Yet, up to this point, no one has gotten a chance to test the car on their local track. This weekend, a few Model 3s made their way onto drag race tracks in different parts of the country.

First, Brooks Weisblat over at DragTimes, got his hands on a Tesla Model 3 in order to put the car through its paces in Florida. According to Teslarati, "Tesla’s mass market compact sedan clocked in an impressive 0-60 mph time of 4.66 seconds. The Model 3 also finished the quarter-mile run in 13.3 seconds at 103 mph." This beats Tesla's officially published times.

This definitely means the forthcoming performance version of the Model 3 will mean business. "Considering that Tesla is yet to release its dual motor AWD, Performance variant, and possibly even a Ludicrous version of the Model 3, the impressive numbers that DragTimes was able to achieve might only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full capabilities of the Model 3."

Above: A look at the results from DragTime's Model 3 testing (Source: DragTimes)

How does Tesla's new Model 3 stack up against the Model S? It's reported that Tesla owner Brian Jenkins was able to pit the Model 3 against both a Model S 75D and P100D in North Carolina. "Not surprisingly, the more powerful Model S 75D won the race... [and] Considering the racing experience of Tesla Racing Channel’s world record-setting Model S P100D, the results of the Model 3’s battle against the drag strip veteran were as expected."

Teslarati also reports on the Model 3 taking on, "a 2017 Ford Mustang with Ecoboost in a 1/8-mile run... By the time the 1/8-mile race was done, the Model 3 was 0.60 seconds ahead of the all-American classic, finishing the run at 8.7 seconds compared to the 2017 Mustang’s 9.3 seconds. The Tesla also registered a trap speed of 81.79 mph versus the Ford’s 77.23 mph."

So although the Model 3 can't (quite) keep up with its elder sibling, Tesla's Model S, its speed looks impressive thus far. It's likely more of Detroit's favorites, similar to Ford's Mustang, will fall to the Model 3 on the drag strip. Others have reason to be worried as well. German sedans from BMW, like the 3-series, are likely to be tested by this new all-American muscle car.

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